Dabang Delhi K.C. hand Jaipur Pink Panthers their first Season 7 loss

Dabang Delhi K.C. handed Jaipur Pink Panthers their first loss of the season by a 35-24 scoreline at the Patliputra Indoor Stadium in Patna on Monday. The northerners’ raiders – Naveen Kumar and Chandran Ranjit – shone and proved to be difficult to contain for Jaipur Pink Panthers’ defence.

Neither side took much time to settle into the game and began the match scoring freely. The opening five minutes of the contest saw raiders dominate proceeding as both defences found it difficult to execute tackles. Naveen was Dabang Delhi K.C.’s best raider in this period, while Deepak Narwal was Jaipur Pink Panthers’ best attacking outlet.

As the match approached the end of the first 10 minutes, Jaipur Pink Panthers had a narrow two-point lead thanks to a couple of successful tackles by Deepak Hooda and Amit Hooda. The rate of scoring points for both teams, though, had slowed down as the half progressed. However, a combination of successful raids by Dabang Delhi K.C.’s Naveen and Ranjit as well as defensive lapses by Jaipur Pink Panthers saw the northerners move into the lead with a little over three minutes to go.

Dabang Delhi K.C. then drove home their numerical advantage on the mat soon after by enforcing the first All-Out of the game on Jaipur Pink Panthers to take a 15-10 lead. The first half eventually ended with Deepak Hooda succumbing to a robust tackle, which resulted in Dabang Delhi K.C. having 16-10 lead at the break.

Dabang Delhi K.C. scored the first point of the second period, but it was Jaipur Pink Panthers who seemed to have momentum with them, especially after a Super Raid by Deepak Hooda. Just when it looked like Jaipur Pink Panthers were eating away at Dabang Delhi K.C.’s lead, Naveen scored a two-point raid for his side to open up a five-point lead.

Moments later, it was Ranjit who brought everyone in the stadium to their feet with an outstanding four-point Super Raid that inflicted another All-Out on Jaipur Pink Panthers and extended Dabang Delhi K.C.’s lead to 29-17. Deepak Hooda wasn’t prepared to give in and tried to get his team back into the contest. However, Dabang Delhi K.C.’s lead was too much for Jaipur Pink Panthers to overcome in the end and they lost the match by 11 points.